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Written question asked by Dan Jarvis (Labour) on Monday, 6 February 2023, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 9 February 2023 (named day). It was answered by Maria Caulfield (Conservative) on Thursday, 9 February 2023 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Mental Health Services: Barnsley Central

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the waiting times for CAMHS in the Barnsley Central constituency.

Answer

It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population. We are supporting them to expand mental health services through the NHS Long Term Plan, which commits to increasing investment into mental health services by at least £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24 so that an additional 345,000 children and young people are able to access National Health Service funded mental health support, including in the Barnsley Central constituency.

We aim to increase the mental health workforce by an additional 27,000 healthcare professionals by 2023/24 to support the expansion and transformation of services.

We also provided an additional £79 million for 2021/22 to allow around 22,500 more children and young people to access community health services.

Assessments for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may also happen through child and adolescent mental health services. Building on last year’s investment of £13 million (through the NHS Long Term Plan and COVID-19 Mental Health Recovery Plan), we will invest £2.5 million in 2022/23 to test and embed improved autism diagnostic pathways.

NHS England are developing a national framework to set out the process of how children, young people and adults should receive an autism diagnosis. The aim of this work is to improve the quality of these diagnostic processes and reduce waiting times.

ICBs and NHS trusts should have due regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE’s) guideline ‘Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management’. The guideline aims to improve the diagnosis of ADHD and to improve the quality of care and support for people of all ages who are diagnosed with ADHD.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
140230
Session
2022-23
Subjects
Children Mental health services Waiting lists Young people Barnsley Central
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk